


Pressure Differentials

by antigrav_vector



Series: Supersonic [3]
Category: Captain America (MCU), Iron Man (MCU), Marvel, Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (2012)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Time Travel, Angst and Feels, Aunt Peggy Carter, BAMF Peggy Carter, Bucky Barnes & Peggy Carter Friendship, Carol Danvers & Tony Stark Friendship, F/M, Fix-It, I am Team Talk Things Over Like Adults, James "Rhodey" Rhodes & Tony Stark Friendship, James "Rhodey" Rhodes is a Good Bro, Lots of Tony Feels, M/M, Memory Issues, Peggy Carter Lives, Protective Carol Danvers, Protective James "Rhodey" Rhodes, Protective Virginia "Pepper" Potts, Recovering winter soldier, Steve and the Winter Soldier finally resolve things -- mostly, The Author Regrets Nothing, Time Travel Fix-It, Tony POV, Tony and the team finally resolve things -- mostly, Virginia "Pepper" Potts & Tony Stark Friendship, post-AoU, pre-CA:CW
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-16
Updated: 2019-07-19
Packaged: 2020-06-29 17:51:19
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 9,324
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19835452
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/antigrav_vector/pseuds/antigrav_vector
Summary: It's business as usual in Stark Tower: where it comes to interpersonal stuff, everything's on fire. Thankfully Stark Industries isn't in any imminent danger of imploding.Well, Tony hopes not, anyhow. Pepper's more than competent enough to steer that ship, and he's got enough on his plate dealing with Cap's stubbornness and James'.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Posted unbeta'ed. Please excuse any remaining typos.
> 
> Timeline notes:  
> This fic picks up directly after the previous one.  
> Ch 1 June 15 2016  
> Ch 2 June 22 2016  
> Ch 3 June 25 2016  
> Ch 4 September 24, 2016

James was, as had become his habit since moving into the Tower, sitting hunched over a mug of coffee at the bar in the common floor kitchen. He looked up when they entered, and gave them a half-smile in greeting.

Tony, seeing that, relaxed. A little. "Hey, so, fair warning," he opened, immediately getting James' eyes to snap back to him. "Rhodey's girlfriend is coming here, probably soon, and will also probably yell at me."

Bucky snorted and shook his head at Tony. "Well, that's one way to deliver the news," he quipped and moved over to the stove to make them some breakfast.

James looked baffled. "Why is she coming here to yell at you?"

"Because I told her Rhodey was upset and needed a hug," Tony answered, and the baffled look deepened. "She very correctly deduced that he was upset by something I said, and she's protective of my honeybear," he explained.

"That doesn't mean she should yell at you," James said slowly, scowling.

"Maybe not," Bucky put in from his position at the stove, where he'd managed to ninja some eggs into a pan and start frying them without drawing Tony's notice, "but Tony says it's probably gonna happen anyway."

Rhodey picked that moment to stumble into the kitchen, rubbing at his face with a groan. "I swear to god, Tony," he muttered, ignoring Bucky and James entirely as he grumbled, "there better not be any more surprises like yesterday's in store."

Tony debated telling his friend that Carol would be showing up. "Not that I know of?" He offered, making Bucky scoff.

Rhodey looked up long enough to acknowledge his presence. "You're no less of a trouble magnet than Tony is, Barnes," he said, then paused. "Well, both of you are, I guess."

James shrugged. "And?"

Rhodey leaned back in his chair with a groan. "And if I have to put up with your collective power to attract trouble, you'd better at least compensate by feeding me breakfast. After that tall tale Tony told me last night..."

Tony waited a beat, but Rhodey didn't seem inclined to keep speaking. "That was no tall tale, cabbage patch," he retorted. "And there's a lot I had to leave out because talking about it would make me dream about it. Or about Afghanistan. Again."

"Sorry," James muttered.

"Not your fault," Bucky replied sternly, plating up some eggs for James and Rhodey, handing over the plates, then starting a fresh batch.

Tony kicked himself into motion and started the coffee brewing, not minding that the room went silent for a few minutes after that exchange.

As the coffee finished brewing and Tony began pouring it out, the elevator pinged and the doors slid open. "Stark!" Carol half shouted, sounding more than a little pissed and making Tony startle hard enough to send coffee spilling over the counter and down his shirtfront. "Where the fuck are you? You have some explaining to do!"

Putting down the carafe with a pained hiss and hurriedly pulling off his shirt to keep the hot coffee from burning his skin, he saw James stand, and move to intercept her. James knew how he felt about being shirtless, knew how self conscious he was about his scars, and this was decidedly not going to endear Carol to him.

Oh boy.

"James!" He snapped, holding his balled up shirt in front of his chest as casually as he could manage, "Stop there."

Carol took the opportunity to storm in, and was immediately pinned in place by James' dark stare.

She recovered quickly, though, meeting James' eyes without flinching. "Who the fuck are you?"

Rhodey pinched the bridge of his nose. "Carol, don't antagonise him."

"I'm here to antagonise Tony, not him," she retorted, "but I accept volunteers."

"For fuck's sake," Tony muttered. "No bloodshed before coffee. Carol, sit your ass down and give Rhodey the hugs he needs. James... let it go. I can defend my own honor."

"You're hurt," James grumbled, stubbornly not budging.

"No, I'm not, you overprotective dumbass," Tony rolled his eyes, half wishing he hadn't called in Carol after all. "And even if I was, it'd be minor."

It took another few long seconds, after that, for James to give in and back down. Carol matched him inch for inch, wary, before she stepped past him with her head held high, settled next to Rhodey, and stole Rhodey's coffee for herself.

Rhodey didn't protest, whipped as he was, and Tony just knew they'd quietly gotten engaged and not said anything. Rhodey was almost as possessive of his coffee as Tony knew he was, himself. But that was an issue for later.

Bucky broke the moment, swearing when he realised he'd let the second batch of eggs burn because of the showdown they'd all been caught up in. A quick test revealed that they were impossible to salvage, so he dumped the whole panful in the trash with a sigh and started over. "Tony, go put on a fresh shirt," he suggested.

Tony gave James, then Carol, a skeptical look. "I'd better not come back to find another argument in progress."

Carol sniffed. "He started it."

"No, you did," he growled, glaring at Carol anew, "barging in like that."

"Damn it," Rhodey sighed. "Go, Tony. I love you like a brother, but I don't want to see you topless."

"But it'd be just like '94?" Tony joked.

"Exactly. Go," Rhodey demanded again, and Tony went, hoping that the Tower would still be standing when he got back.

Tony considered things as he walked over to the elevator, then into his room.

In retrospect, as much as she was likely to help Rhodey recover his balance, there had been no way Carol and James wouldn't strike dangerous sparks off one another. Oh well. Now he'd just have to deal with the results. The pair of them would have met and had a face off, regardless of when it happened. This meant they'd have gotten it out of the way early on, and once they'd explained things to Carol -- as much as she was cleared to know anyway -- she'd ease up. Hell, she'd probably do an about face to the point of defending James, rather than Rhodey, which could be entertaining.

He dumped his stained shirt into his hamper and pulled on a fresh one, then hurried back down to the scene of the drama.

When he got there, it was to find that Peggy had appeared, and was reigning over the room with an iron fist. She'd somehow managed to wrangle James into sitting at the breakfast bar -- a feat that Tony knew none of the others in the room could have accomplished, given that that meant James had his back to the door -- and Carol looked like she wasn't sure whether she was still pissed or not.

Carol caught his eyes when he re-entered the room, and glared at him. "Why the hell didn't you tell me what was wrong?" she demanded. "It's not like the words top secret actually mean anything to you."

"They mean there's a time and a place, and that isn't a goddamn text message, Danvers," Tony shot back, watching James' hackles go right back up. "I might talk about top secret shit with you guys, but that doesn't mean I do it out in the open. If you have to know, we'll talk about it after breakfast."

Carol huffed at him but accepted that.

"Seems like a solid plan to me," Peggy agreed. "Having food in their mouths might keep these two from arguing, though I'm not about to get my hopes up on that score."

Bucky pointedly set a plate of food in Tony's usual spot at the table without a word, then got his own and sat down, looking up at him expectantly. What else could he do but join his boyfriend and dig in? 

Resigning himself to telling James' story yet again, though probably with support this time, Tony ate. In his preoccupation, he barely tasted any of it, and his fork clicked down on an empty plate before he'd truly registered that he'd eaten up. Tony covered his momentary surprise-induced awkwardness by taking a sip of his coffee.

Rhodey leaned back in his chair, then, and pushed his own plate away. "Now that everyone's fed and calm," he said with a glance over at James, "you'd better read Carol in, so we can move on, Tony."

"You willing to risk getting her breakfast down your shirt, Platypus?" Tony asked his best friend, only half joking. "So far everyone's had a similar reaction to this story."

Carol looked skeptical, but everyone else in the room was nodding a bit ruefully. "Well, tell me, then, and get it over with," she suggested.

Tony caught James' attention. "You don't have to stay for this."

James hesitated, then stayed put. "I know."

Bucky gave his double an approving look. "Don't push too hard," he put in, standing and picking up his plate and flatware, then Tony's. Everything got dumped in the sink, and then he turned back to give Tony a chaste peck of a kiss and add, "Same goes for you. I know talking about it upsets you as much as James."

Tony gave him a tight smile, then returned the gesture.

"Take Peggy and go hit up the shooting range or something," he answered in kind, knowing that the almost meditative focus Bucky reached when he was there helped him work through all kinds of things.

Carol waited until Bucky and Peggy had left before she spoke up. "So you're with the younger twin, then? The way he almost bit my head off earlier, I'd have thought you were with that one," she asked, pointing at James with her chin.

James' expression went carefully blank. Tony shrugged. "Bucky and I've been a thing for... almost two months now," he answered. "But that has nothing to do with what you want to know."

Rhodey snorted. "Tony, she definitely wants the gossip, and you know it."

Carol looked up at her own boyfriend and smirked. "Might as well get it straight from the source," she replied. "You know how reliable the gossip rags are."

Shaking his head, caught between his fondness for Carol and Rhodey and the dark horrifying nature of what had happened to James, Tony stood and refilled his mug of coffee. It was tempting to put in a shot of schnapps or something, but he knew better than to do that with James in the room and tense as hell. It wouldn't necessarily set off an argument, but he knew it upset James to see him drink casually like that. Apparently it reminded him too much of Howard for comfort... and that reminded him that he'd been the one to... Nevermind. Wrong train of thought.

He shook off the thoughts, then topped off everyone's coffees, and settled at the breakfast bar next to James, where he could offer physical comfort if it was needed or wanted. He knew damned well how much talking about PTSD inducing trauma could suck. It almost sucked more to hear someone else say it.

"Alright, Carol," he said, feeling his expression go tight, "it's like this. You're getting maybe twenty percent of the story, partly because I won't talk about the rest, partly because James won't talk about the rest, and partly because telling the whole thing would take a long time."

"Just get on with it," she told him.

"Fine. You asked for it." Tony took a steadying breath and felt James' hand brush against the outside of his knee, then launched into the abbreviated tale.

James stood and left the room about two minutes in, as Tony started talking about how James had walked into their lives and decided to stay. Carol stared after him for a beat, looking like she wanted to chase him down, then turned back to Tony and cleared her throat. "Well? What's the rest? So far this is more meet-cute than horrifying."

When Tony finished, about half an hour later, giving her the same briefing he'd given Rhodey, she looked like she was torn between wanting to give James a hug and find the people who'd tormented him just so she could turn them into paste. "No wonder my James was upset when he heard that story," she said eventually. "What're you going to do with him?"

"That's up to him to decide, but whatever happens, I don't want to be caught in the crosshairs when Cap eventually catches on to the fact that he's here and storms the castle with the intent to do who knows what. Burn down the Tower, maybe." Tony rubbed at the nape of his neck.

Rhodey shrugged. "Sic Peggy on him."

Tony gave Rhodey a flat look. "When he ran off to DC in May, the entirety of SHIELD and the US Armed Forces didn't stop him," he pointed out. "I'm not convinced that'll be enough."


	2. Chapter 2

Less than two weeks after Carol found out about James, the next round of drama erupted.

Shortly after they'd finished their dinner, FRIDAY alerted them to incoming company that no one had expected to show up just then. "Boss, ye might consider cleaning up, the Captain has just entered the building."

"Damn it." James grabbed for his plate, hastily dumped it in the sink, and bolted. Peggy reached out after him, as though she wanted to grab for his wrist, then let her hand drop.

Tony considered following, but he needed to stay put. Cap was almost guaranteed to be here because he was looking for Peggy, but wanting to talk with Tony often came in a close second. On the other hand, Cap had been very cautious about spending time with Bucky in the last couple of months, having apparently taken the threat of being punched quite seriously.

As he finished the thought, the elevator pinged and the doors slid open. The Cap stepped out, and looked around the room at them. "Is this a bad time?" He asked, raising an eyebrow at them.

"Eh, a little. We just finished eating," Tony answered, pulling himself together, "so if you're hungry we'll have to order fresh."

Peggy stood and stepped over to him. "What brings you here tonight, Steve?"

"A rumour," he said, his face darkening slightly. "Is there something you three aren't telling me?"

"There are lots of things I don't tell you," Tony shot back, bristling a bit in the face of the Cap's open suspicion. "Most of the things I work on these days are corporate secret, including the things intended for SHIELD and the Avengers."

"That's not what I meant," the Cap bit out. "Why are there rumours that you're housing more than just Peg and Bucky, here?"

That was news to him, and represented a possible information leak. "FRIDAY, dearest, are there rumours about that?"

"I wasn't aware of any, Boss," she replied readily. "Nothing has been mentioned by the tabloids or more reputable news agencies that has crossed my servers."

"Where did this rumour come from, Steve?" Bucky chimed in, pretty obviously drawing the same conclusions Tony had. "Who told you that?"

The Cap scowled. "Are you implying that Natasha is untrustworthy?"

So the Widow had been sniffing around? That figured. "No, we're trying to figure out if my Tower's security was compromised, so that I can plug the leak, if there is one," Tony replied as evenly as he could.

"Be careful, Steve," Bucky warned his friend, "you're treading dangerously close to 'hostile', right now."

That took him aback, and the Cap stared at Bucky for a beat, surprised. Then his head lowered slightly and his shoulders relaxed. "Sorry," he muttered, "the last few weeks have been... rough."

Peggy put a hand on his shoulder and chided him gently. "It's understandable that you're frustrated, given that you've been working hard and seen little result come of it, but you mustn't take that out on people who are trying to support you."

The Cap turned, without a word, and pulled her into his arms.

The room was silent for a few long seconds, and then the Cap took a deep breath. "I'll try not to," he told her, "but what did you think I'd do when someone on my team hinted that the Winter Soldier had been spotted near the Tower, repeatedly."

Well, shit.

"So Widow threw you a hint and you went off half-cocked again?" He asked, knowing his tone was a bit scathing. "That worked so well for you in DC. I thought it was you telling me we had to have a plan, way back when."

The commentary got him a scowl. "My hand was forced, that time. We didn't have a chance to call in reinforcements or the leisure to sit around arguing alternatives."

"So that's why you dumped all that data, is it?" Tony pressed him a bit.

"No, that was to force HYDRA out into the open," Cap stuck to his guns, as Tony'd expected.

Firing back and watching Bucky track the argument like a tennis match, Tony shot back, "You know, force really isn't the way to fight an enemy that stays in the shadows. You may have discredited Pierce and more than half of SHIELD, but that's not the enemy you should be fighting. The powerful players are still in the dark and won't show their faces if they can possibly avoid it."

"Boys," Peggy broke in, "stop that."

Bucky let out the breath he'd apparently been holding in a sound that approximated a sigh. "Wow, you two are like cats and dogs, ain't'cha."

The Cap's jaw worked. "Tony," he said slowly, evenly, "are you or are you not housing more than just Bucky and Peggy on the secured levels of this building?"

Tony hesitated. Lie, and Cap would immediately call him on it, tell him the truth and he'd be pissed. Deciding to go for broke, Tony shrugged. Lose-lose scenario, so he might as well not compound the issue.

"There might be some truth to that particular rumour, yes," he acknowledged, and watched the Cap's expression go stormy again.

Cap's next demand was outright predictable. "Then why were you trying to stonewall and distract me?"

"Because our guest wasn't ready to go public, and a confrontation with you was likely to cause exactly that." 

That made Cap pause, and Tony was almost sure he was putting the pieces together. "Nat spotted the Winter Soldier near the Tower because he's living here," the Cap stated baldly, looking like he didn't know whether to laugh, dance, rage, or who even knew what.

Peggy's hold on the Cap's shoulder, which she had yet to let go of, tightened. "Don't even think about it, Steve," she warned him. "He's not ready."

Bucky very deliberately stepped between Tony and the Cap, as Peggy finished speaking, and caught his best friend's eyes, holding them steadily. "He's been recovering, but he's scared you'll try to cram him back into a mold that doesn't fit him. Do yourself and him a favour, and don't do that. He ain't the man you remember. Hell, I ain't, either, and I never went through the shit he did."

The Cap gave Bucky a gutted look, then slumped. "So you've been running interference for him and he wants to be left alone. I get it."

Tony shrugged. "For now, he does. This was never going to be an arrangement that lasted forever. At some point, once we thought he could handle it without freaking out, one of us would have locked him in a closet long enough to shove you at him."

Bucky eyed the Cap for a moment longer, then nodded. "You two keep an eye on Steve. I should go check on James."

Tony nodded back. "Go. And let me know if you need backup. Peggy can handle the Cap, if it comes to that."

Bucky vanished into the elevator and the Cap looked like he wanted to deflate. Peggy steered him toward the sofa, and took his hand as she sat beside him.

Tony eyed their visitor a trifle warily. Sure, the Cap seemed to have let go of whatever he'd been chewing on to give himself the energy for their confrontation, but one never quite knew. The Cap had managed to cut him off at the knees before with nothing more than a well-placed comment made out of the blue.

"Boss?" FRIDAY spoke up, "Your presence is requested."

That wording implied that it was Bucky requesting him, and that he was needed fairly urgently though not for any emergency, but also that FRIDAY didn't want to get the Cap riled up again. Tony could appreciate the complexity of the setup. He turned and headed for the elevator briskly, tossing a wave over his shoulder. "I'm on my way. We'll catch up later, Capcicle."

"But--"

"Come, Steve," Peggy cut him off as the elevator doors slid smoothly open in front of Tony, "we have some catching up to do, ourselves, so long as we have the privacy."

The doors closed again behind him, and Tony let himself consider the situation as the elevator descended, a bit faster than it usually did.

Peggy's comment had been fairly transparent. But then, Tony suspected it had to be for the Cap to take the hint. For all his tactical genius, the man was terrible at dealing with people one-on-one and often needed to be hit by a clue-by-four or flat out told what you wanted him to do. (And even then the odds that he'd do what you wanted were fairly slim unless your name was Peggy Carter.) The Cap definitely didn't do subtle.

Neither did James, really, but that was something to be thought through later. Tony exited the elevator again the moment the doors slid open, noting that they were on James' floor, and that the lights were dimmed.

That wasn't a great sign. Dimmed lights tended to mean that James was freaking out, and needed to feel like he could hide from the world.

It also usually meant that James had holed up in his bathroom, and was refusing to come out.

Tony bit back on a sigh, and made his way carefully though the apartment. As he approached the bathroom, as he'd expected, he heard Bucky's voice. His boyfriend was trying to coax James out into the bedroom, and Tony was fairly sure he could hear James sobbing in the background.

"-- get Tony in here, an' you'll see. Everything's fine," Bucky was saying, keeping his voice low and even. "Steve won't bother you here. We won't let him."

Tony decided it was time he made his presence known. "That's right," he said firmly, agreeing without really caring what he was promising since it was almost sure to be something he wouldn't mind giving James or doing, "and Peggy will help us make sure of it."

He heard James take a wet, hitching breath. ""I know. It's just..."

"It's just that the Cap is so damned extra about everything," Tony agreed. "Pushes too hard. But then, I'm not much better."

Bucky snorted. "I know we've talked about you and your habit of putting yourself down," he said mildly. "Quit that."

Tony saw James uncurl a little, and carefully didn't point that out. "I know we've talked about how breaking lifelong habits is going to take a while," he shot back without so much as blinking; the Press had accused him of far worse over the years and he'd been forced to keep a straight face despite the onslaught. It took far worse than that kind of a comment to break his equanimity.

Bucky scowled, and Tony almost laughed when he saw James echo the expression.

"Come on," Tony prompted James, "wash your face and let's go down to the noodle place on the 10th floor. I want some shrimp lo mein."

James finally looked up at him, then, and Tony watched Bucky bite down harshly on his impulse to comment on how red-rimmed James' eyes were. He watched Tony for a few seconds that seemed to stretch, clearly not believing that he was hungry again already, then muttered, "Get it delivered."

"Eh, alright," he agreed. "FRIDAY?"

"On it, Boss," she acknowledged, and Tony knew it'd get done. She'd probably add a few other treats that James enjoyed into the order.

"Guess that's settled, then," Bucky put in, breaking his short silence. "What d'ya wanna do in the meantime? Surf the internet for more cat memes?"

James sniffed at him, looking faintly offended. "I look at more than just _cat memes_ on the internet."

Grinning, Tony prodded at him verbally. "Show us, then. What interesting things did you find today?"

The next five minutes degenerated into a competition to show off the most ridiculous products on the market that they'd ever seen, ranging from a standing lamp that was basically a sassy lady with a lampshade for a head to cheek exercisers to bacon themed Band-Aids and toothpaste[1].

As distractions went, it was very effective, and by the time the food arrived, James was more or less calm again, though they had yet to get a true smile out of him. They settled in to pick over the fingerfoods that Friday had supplied them with instead of the lo mein they'd originally ordered, and the conversation died away into quiet requests for the one dish or the other.

As they ate Tony let himself consider the situation. Given the way James had reacted today, he suspected that James would need a month or two yet before he could stand to be in the same room as the Cap, and Tony found he didn't really mind that idea. After the mess with Ultron he'd missed having the team around, missed the comraderie they'd only just managed to achieve before that clusterfuck -- albeit without realising he did before James, Bucky and Peggy had burst onto the scene and turned his life upside down -- he found he didn't anymore. Having the three of them around was as good. Maybe better.

The three of them had their own issues and baggage to work around, like Tony did with the team, but theirs was a lot lighter and the four of them were content not to push one anothers' boundaries too harshly. That had always been one of the things about being on the Avengers that Tony'd had trouble with. The five original members besides him -- well, him and maybe Bruce -- practically _shoved_.

Granted, that wasn't out of malice or resentment... well, mostly. At least it hadn't been, at first.

After Ultron, things had shifted. The team had split, and the founding members who'd stuck around had essentially closed ranks against Tony. The new guys... well, the new guys had followed their lead.

Even now, months after Steve had initially marched off to try to convince his team to play nice with Tony -- apparently to little effect judging by the lack of appearances on the part of his supposed teammates -- they seemed to be holding to that opinion of him tightly.

As far as he knew, anyway.

Steve had yet to say a word about it to him. He'd surely discussed it with Peggy at least once, and maybe he'd brought it up with Bucky. But never with him.

Whatever. Let them think what they wanted.

He had allies now that weren't Pepper or Rhodey, and it was surprisingly nice.

"Tony?" Bucky jerked him back out of his thoughts.

Tony cleared his throat and set aside the last spring roll he'd been nibbling on as he thought. "Yeah?"

Bucky gave him a knowing look -- he'd guessed Tony was thinking heavy thoughts but didn't pursue the topic -- then asked, "Wanna watch a movie?"

James considered that for a beat, then suggested, "A Fish Called Wanda?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [1] So, uh, yeah. All of these really exist. Links or it didn't happen: [Ridiculous lamp](https://www.amazon.com/Sassy-Sexy-Fashion-Couture-Floor/dp/B006VCK2V8) | [Cheek exerciser](http://www.japantrendshop.com/pupeko-antiaging-mouthpiece-p-1257.html) | [Bacon Band-Aids](http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000SSV8AA/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B000SSV8AA&linkCode=as2&tag=aviationexplo-20) | [Bacon Toothpaste](http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004MBNK5K/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B004MBNK5K&linkCode=as2&tag=aviationexplo-20). Click here to return to text.


	3. Chapter 3

They had a few days' peace after Cap's initial 'visit', where he'd confronted them about James' presence in the Tower, and then the Cap had announced that he was coming back into the City -- and he was bringing his team with him.

Bucky had been there when Tony'd gotten the notice from the Cap, via FRIDAY. Had seen Tony quietly freak out and pace anxiously because that could only mean they were coming here to confront him about James. Had let him pace for a couple of minutes, then pulled him down onto the sofa in the workshop and into his arms.

Tony'd taken the opportunity to wrap himself around his boyfriend and let Bucky comfort him. It still wasn't the easiest thing for him to accept that sort of comfort from someone who wasn't Rhodey or Pepper -- and it was tough to accept even from them some of the time -- but he was getting closer and closer to adding Bucky to that very short list of people he was willing to allow past those particularly well-defended walls.

"You okay?" Bucky asked him when his breathing slowed back to a normal pace.

Tony laughed bitterly. "I'm always fine. I have to be."

"Not for me, ya don't," Bucky disagreed. "'S okay to need a moment now and then. Steve never learned that lesson, yanno. Always did shit the hard way."

Tony couldn't help scoffing at the very obvious nature of that statement. Water is wet. Steve fucking Rogers is a stubborn idiot where it comes to needing help. "I just... you and Peggy got him straightened out. More or less. But the others..."

Bucky shrugged, and Tony felt his head roll a little where it rested on Bucky's shoulder. After a beat his boyfriend spoke up. "We'll sort them out, too, if we have to. A team ain't a team if it's as fractured as yours is right now."

Tony scoffed again. "We were never a team," he muttered. "We were a group of people used to working alone, expected to work together."

That got him a nod. "An' it didn't go so well," Bucky guessed, his tone dry.

"You could say that. And the ones on the team that are showing up are the ones that were against my membership from the start."

"Oh?" Bucky prodded at him until he was sitting upright. "You never mentioned that before."

"Iron Man, yes. Tony Stark, not recommended," he quoted the Widow's bullshit assessment.

That got him a raised eyebrow. Bucky had clearly heard the quotes around the words. "That makes no sense," he said quietly. "You are Iron Man."

"The Widow thought otherwise, and Fury agreed." Tony tried to push himself to his feet, and failed. Bucky's arms locked in place around his waist and held him where he was.

"So how are we gonna play this?" Bucky asked him, pragmatic as ever.

"No idea," Tony muttered. "Depends on how they behave."

"Okay, worst and best case scenarios," his boyfriend demanded. "Go."

Bucky was as stubborn as the Cap. Possibly moreso. Tony gave in. "Best case -- and least likely one -- is that they actually listened to the Cap and are willing to play nice from here on out. If that's happened, I guess we can wrap this up and move the fuck on."

Bucky nodded. "And the worst case?"

"Nothing's changed and they hate my guts." Tony snapped and forced his way to his feet, the need to pace overwhelming any comfort he was taking from Bucky's hold. 

Bucky let him go, that time. "And if that happens, what do you want to do?"

Tony growled a few curses under his breath. "Hang out in my workshop until they leave. Like I always do."

Standing and stepping over to catch Tony's hand, Bucky twined their fingers together and pulled him in for a brief kiss. "If they cause trouble," he said, "say the word and we'll kick them back out on their asses."

"Don't," Tony demanded, stopping his pacing. "Don't do that. Widow will have no compunctions about stabbing you and making you regret being alive, and that'll force the Cap to take sides."

"Tony..." Bucky started, then paused and raised an eyebrow at him before he demanded, "Okay, take a step back and listen."

His boyfriend had started using that as a conversational flag, whenever he thought Tony was spiraling off into some kind of incorrect assessment of how things were. And even if he wasn't always on target, Bucky's perspective always gave him some new kind of insight. He didn't always incorporate all of -- or in some cases any of -- Bucky's input, but he'd taken to listening before dismissing it. Taking a steadying breath, Tony nodded.

Bucky nodded back. "First of all," he opened, sounding exasperated, "what makes ya think Peggy and I ain't picked a side already? Steve fucked up, this time around. He was supposed ta keep the team from going off the rails. That's what a team leader does. They're not just there to strategise or hit things. And he failed spectacularly at it."

Tony took a breath to argue that point, and Bucky stared him down until he thought better of speaking.

"Second, Steve is supposed ta be on your side, as the leader of your team. Hell, your team is supposed ta be on your side, for that matter. If us pointin' out their behavior is enough to cause that much of a fight, they sure ain't on your side. Last, I know Steve. He wouldn't be bringing them here if he didn't think he had a damn good chance of success. I meant it when I said I might punch him if he kept being a dumbass about this, and he knows that."

Left speechless by that series of declarations, Tony just stared at his boyfriend for a second. "I... you know, I can't even disagree with most of that."

Bucky smirked at him smugly. "Good. Now. They'll be here in about half an hour. Let's go have a little fun in the shower to pass the time."

Laughing helplessly in the face of Bucky's direct charm, Tony accepted that offer. "Alright, you're on."

In the end, the team had showed up early and they were very fashionably late, and Tony did _not_ want to know what excuse FRIDAY had made for their tardiness.

"Boss," she'd interrupted them, just before they'd finished teasing one another to the brink, "your guests are waiting in the common room kitchen."

Tony had simply groaned, not wanting to be distracted, and Bucky had laughed at him before finishing him off as quickly as he could.

They'd leaned against one another until they'd calmed a little, then rinsed off, dried off, and dressed. Bucky's hands had lingered on any exposed skin they could until they left the bedroom, and then he was all propriety.

As they walked, Tony tried to find the right mindset for the conversation that was about to take place, suddenly glad he and Bucky had talked about approaches beforehand. It had been reassuring to hear that Bucky and Peggy had his back, for all that he'd known that from the start. 

The elevator doors seemed to loom in front of him.

Shaking off that thought, Tony tried to refocus his thoughts. He had barely met Falcon, so that would probably be less of a problem to resolve and more of an apology to collect, assuming he could deal with the other two teammates that were likely to show up with the Cap. He'd need to deal with the Widow and the Witch first, if he could.

As he finished the thought, the elevator slowed and the doors opened with a quiet ping. 

Here went nothing.

Much as he was inclined to believe Bucky's assessment of the situation was accurate -- he did know Steve a lot better than Tony -- he didn't trust the Witch or the Widow.

When he and Bucky sauntered into the kitchen, they were instantly the center of attention. Their five visitors were seated in various positions around the kitchen, save for Vision, who was poking at the various appliances curiously. Peggy was tucked against the Cap's side.

Wilson raised an eyebrow at Tony. "Nice of you to join us," he drawled, apparently unimpressed by their lack of punctuality.

"You picked an awkward moment to show up. We were in the shower," Tony responded with a shrug, openly owning his and Bucky's relationship, and not bothering to pussyfoot around it. Let them know -- or assume -- they'd interrupted something private. Bucky took the opportunity to wrap a possessive arm around Tony's waist. He saw the surprise cross Wilson's face, curiousity the Vision's, and the slight blush tint the Witch's.

The Cap cleared his throat awkwardly. "That was more than we needed to know, thanks."

Widow huffed at him. "Implying that you were having sex won't get you out of this conversation, Stark," she said in her usual calm near-monotone.

"It was worth a shot," Tony told her.

The Cap gave him a look and tried to yank the conversation, such as it was, back on track. "Tony's bluntness aside, we have a few topics to discuss."

"Those being?" Bucky asked, catching Peggy's eyes and getting a short nod.

"Why you hid important mission relevant information from us," Widow suggested, a dark edge to her voice, now.

"Later, Nat," the Cap put his foot down. "First, we have other things to address."

The Witch looked a little shamefaced, at that, then caught Tony's eyes and swallowed nervously. "I-- Before I say my piece, Stark," she broke her silence, "I would ask you something."

"I reserve the right not to answer," Tony responded, not at all confident that what she wanted to ask would be at all productive to their 'discussion'.

The Witch visibly tried to steel herself, then asked, "Will you let me show them the vision my powers gave you?"

Tony stared at her in shock. That implied she'd seen it, too, and knew what she was asking. Knew that what she proposed would cut him -- possibly all of them -- to the bone once more. It was his turn to look down and swallow hard against the way his throat tried to close.

Bucky's grip on him tightened, and Tony let that touch ground him. "Why should I let you into my head again," he asked her, forcing himself to look back up and meet her eyes, "after what you did the first time?"

"You don't have to," she said quietly. "I can show it to them without needing any contact with you. But I would have your consent."

'This time,' rang pretty obviously in the air, for all that it went unsaid, and Tony could tell Peggy had heard it too, by the way she scowled darkly.

"And what do you think will change, if you show them what I saw?" Tony pressed.

The Witch hesitated, then admitted, "The same thing that changed when I saw it."

Bucky eyed her a trifle suspiciously. "And are Peggy and I included in this offer of yours?"

"If you wish to be," she replied, confident in her answer despite being visibly very uncomfortable.

"Damn right, I do," Bucky declared, sounding like he would have crossed his arms if he weren't wrapped around Tony possessively.

Peggy nodded. "As long as Tony agrees."

"I don't need to see it again," Tony added, a shudder running down his spine as the memories came flooding back without her help.

The Witch nodded. "Understood. Do I have your consent?"

"Fine. Show them." Tony desperately wanted a stiff drink.

There was no obvious sign that the Witch had followed through on what she'd asked -- what she had obviously offered the other active duty Avengers and discussed with them before they'd come here -- until the lot of them made a series of shocked and wounded noises. Bucky's hold on him went vice-like, and even the Widow looked like she suddenly wanted to shed a tear. Wilson was a bit green around the gills, and the Cap as well.

When their eyes focused on him again, Tony braced himself for what would happen next. Either they would accept what they'd seen, or--

Bucky swore viciously, not bothering to keep his voice down. "No wonder you went to such lengths," he said, and Tony could tell his boyfriend wanted to hide him away and protect him.

The Cap cleared his throat roughly. "I-- Tony... I would never--"

"You might as well have," Tony cut him off. "What you said later, at Clint's... more or less confirmed that image."

The Cap winced, then looked miserable. "I always mess things up when I talk to you," he admitted, "but that was never what I meant you to think."

Widow was looking at him almost pensively, now that she'd recovered from the shock of seeing that vision. "Wanda?" She asked, her tone seemingly idle.

Tony knew it was everything but.

"Yes?" The Witch responded gamely enough.

"What you did to produce that vision in Tony..." Widow pursued her point. "What was your spell meant to do?"

Her expression very uncomfortable, the Witch hesitated. "It was meant to pull the subject's darkest subconscious fears to the surface. That approach did not work on all of you, but was quite effective against Steve and Stark." She caught Tony's eyes, then, and swallowed hard before she added, "Once I saw Stark's vision, I knew he could not be the monster I had thought him and Ultron had tried to claim him to be. But I could not let go of my resentment towards him overnight. I'd held onto it for too many years. Used it to get myself through dark times."

The Vision kept quiet, but Wilson didn't. "Jesus, Stark," he muttered. "Why didn't you say something?"

"We were all off balance, hurt, and angry," the Widow answered, "and Stark has always played his cards close. There was no way that would ever have happened, Sam."

"Not like any of you opened up about it, either," Tony put in, wishing he could just put on the armour and fly away from this conversation.

Peggy snorted, getting everyone's attention. "That's no big surprise," she agreed with him. "Now, all of you kiss and make up. And afterwards, we can have that discussion the Widow wanted, so long as all of you stay civil."

Somewhat to Tony's shock -- and a bit of distant amusement -- they obeyed, offering Tony what apologies they thought he wanted, and Tony accepted them. He even offered one of his own that he wasn't sure he fully meant. And then they were officially a team again, at least in theory.

Whether the group of active Avengers would also follow through on what they'd just promised... well. That remained to be seen.

At that point, Peggy insisted that they order something to eat before tackling the rest of their informal agenda. Tony could see that the Widow didn't much like that, but she didn't openly object. Maybe because she saw the value in letting the emotional aftermath of what had just transpired fade away again.

Whatever. Tony wasn't going to look this gift horse in the mouth. He'd keep on as he always had and see whether anything changed in the way the team behaved around him.

Maybe it would and maybe it wouldn't.

Only time would tell.

In the meantime, he and Bucky and Peggy would have to keep the Avengers from trying to chase down James once they found out just what had transpired under their noses in the last few months. Peggy would have her hands full keeping the Cap from charging off to do who even knew what or getting pissed off at Tony, and Tony found himself hoping James had left the Tower for the duration. That would probably be less stressful for all of them.

Navigating this conversation would be like trying to manage pressure differentials in flight.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For those of you who are unfamiliar with the scene, or just want to be punched in the feels all over again: [Tony's vision](https://youtu.be/IkD0i3VUObY)
> 
> Any airplane wing that produces lift (and not all of them do) does it by creating a pressure differential. The air pressure is lower above the wing than below. A nice graphical illustration can be found on page 2 of this paper: [link to PDF download](www.sapub.org/global/showpaperpdf.aspx?doi=10.5923/j.aerospace.20170501.01). (Don't worry about all the text, unless you like that sort of technical stuff. What I wanted to point out was only the graphic.)


	4. Chapter 4

In the end it took another twelve weeks or so before that new status quo changed. 

Tony spent the time waiting for the other shoe to drop, not sure he really believed that the team had forgiven him, but they'd traveled to the Tower more often and made enough of an effort to play nice that he'd eventually decided they were sincere. 

At least, mostly. 

It was enough for him to work with, anyway. 

Slowly, gradually, things had eased, and even James had relaxed somewhat when they were present in the Tower, though he'd refused to show himself to them at all. Instead he'd taken to watching them suspiciously over FRIDAY's cameras from his rooms rather than interacting with them. He'd repeatedly refused to tell Tony why. 

Bucky had simply shrugged when Tony'd asked him about that little bit of weird behaviour. Peggy had suggested he leave it be. Whether that was because James had told her why in confidence or because Peggy had no idea, either, was an open question.

As far as Tony was concerned, though, it was enough that James wasn't freaking out or getting angry or having other dangerous reactions to the team. After all, if the three of them were ever going to get James to talk to the Cap, they'd have to make sure James was comfortable being around the others as well.

And even if James never wanted to deal with the Cap extensively, the team would be around more in future. That much had been abundantly clear right from the get go, when  
The team had, in fact, outright said as much and then started doing their best to pry information about James out of the three of them, post-apology.

How things had led them here, Tony had no idea.

"Why did I let myself get talked into this?" Tony asked his boyfriend, a bit despairingly, then crammed his hat onto his head. 

"Because you have a hard time saying no when James wants something," Bucky replied, and gave him an indulgent smile. "I thought it was kinda sweet you didn't refuse."

Tony grumbled a few curses and picked at the collar of his costume. 

He wasn't sure what to think about it, but somehow James had managed to almost effortlessly maneuver him into inviting the whole team over for a Halloween party.

The team, of course, had claimed they loved the idea. (That was almost certainly because it marked the first time Tony had outright reached out and invited them to do anything with him since they'd dealt with Ultron, but that was incidental as far as Tony was concerned.)

Straightening his spine and squaring his shoulders, Tony resisted the urge to adjust his costume again. "Come on," he suggested, knowing he sounded more like he was on mission than off to party with people who were supposed to be his friends, "let's go greet them and see just how weird this evening is going to be."

Stepping off the elevator and out into the common floor foyer was like stepping through the looking glass. The Witch had picked out something retro and stylish and chosen to dress as Audrey Hepburn. It suited her oddly well, all things considered. Wilson had (Tony tried not to laugh and only partially succeeded) decided to dress up as Director Fury, and the Widow as Subdirector Hill. 

Peggy, elegant and poised as always, had chosen to go for something rather more old school, and bought herself the highest quality Cinderella costume she could find. She looked absolutely stunning in it, too. The color suited her complexion beautifully. The Cap had, somewhat predictably, opted to dress to match her and shown up as fucking Prince Charming. That was another choice that had Tony trying not to laugh, that time at the irony of the sarcastic asshole that was Steve Rogers attempting to persuade the world he was charming.

Vision hadn't bothered to dress up in costume, but appeared to be enjoying himself nevertheless, asking the others about just who it was they had dressed as.

Carol and Rhodey had shown up in replica Top Gun flight suits and aviators. The pair of them looked ready to kick ass and take names. Pepper had decided she wanted no part of the drama that was likely to erupt tonight, and stopped by earlier in the day to have a cup of coffee with them, then vanished off to visit with her family or something of that nature. James was nowhere to be seen, but he'd sworn he'd be here. Unsuspecting as yet, the others had arranged themselves around the snack-laden coffee table. 

Wondering when James was going to make his entrance, Tony cleared his throat as he stepped through the door. Bucky was right beside him, his Buster Keaton costume pretty much flawless and a wonderfully deadpan expression on his face.

Peggy took one look at them and snorted. "Not the choices of costume I'd have expected from either of you, but they suit," she commented. "Come sit with us, Messers Chaplin and Keaton."

Bucky's expression never changed. "I could say the same about you, Cinderella. Though I ain't sure Steve's a Prince Charming."

"Yeah yeah, everyone's a critic," the Cap muttered, looking a bit mulish. 

Peggy patted his forearm. "It does look good with your figure, darling," she told him, "but you've not quite the right personality for it."

Bucky's lips quirked. "Widow there, on the other hand, has exactly the right personality to pull off her costume. I'm not sure about Wilson."

Seeming to appear out of thin air, James interjected from a corner of the room. "He's a bit too skinny."

Everyone but the Witch and the Widow jumped, and a couple of those present reached for weapons they weren't carrying.

The Cap stood slowly, carefully, and turned to face James. Seeing Prince Charming facing off against an artistically bloodied Jason from Friday the 13th made Tony question his life choices. Again.

"Now that's just surreal," Wilson commented, mostly under his breath, making Bucky snigger.

Tony had to agree. The costume had been pretty obviously chosen because it came with a mask, and allowed James to hide his expression. Tony suspected that made him feel a little safer around these people he didn't know. James had worn a mask the first time he'd shown up at the Tower to meet them, too. Albeit a very different one, with very different associations.

"Nice to see you," the Widow spoke up. "It's been a while."

James ignored her commentary and Wilson's. So did the Cap. 

"So you're here for a reason, aren't you," the Cap reasoned. 

James nodded.

The Cap nodded back -- wary of spooking James, Tony suspected -- and his fingers twitched like he wanted to reach out and had to force himself not to. "What is it?" 

"You should stop searching for the guy I no longer am," James told him, making the Cap automatically protest.

"But you are!" The words seemed to burst out of him and his hands clenched into fists so tight the knuckles went white. "You are the guy I remember. Who you were is still in there, I'm sure of it!"

Widow made a sound that conveyed skepticism. "Steve, seventy years, even without being a prisoner of war, will change anyone. You're not the same person you were during the War, are you?"

That shut him up, and definitely won her a few points in James’ book. Tony had to admit, the support she was offering was for both sides, and that won her a few points in _his_ book, despite his lingering wariness of the team in general.

Peggy nodded. "Don't try to turn James into someone he's not," she put in. "There's no need to. Bucky's right here alongside him. Accept that they're separate people and move on."

Still at a loss for words, the Cap stared at Peggy for a beat, then visibly bit down on another protest. "Guess you got a point," he admitted after a beat. "It's just hard not to want to help," he stumbled over the name, "James get back what HYDRA took from him. What they did..." He bit down on the end of that sentence and let it trail off into silence.

James' shoulders, which had tensed up gradually as he'd listened to the conversation, lowered slightly. "Your help is not necessary," he commented succinctly. "Bucky and Peggy have been doing that. Without the emotional outbursts. So has Tony."

That got James several stares from the rest of the gathered Avengers, but no one protested out loud. Tony couldn't help but join in. He hadn't thought James would possibly consider him helpful to his recovery.

The Cap stared at him for a beat, too, surprised, then pulled himself together enough to reply, "Good. You need someone in your corner, Jerk."

That got a hint of a smile out of James that was audible through the mask. "I have 'em on the ropes," he said simply, then turned and left the room before anyone could reply. The Cap stared after him, disbelieving and clearly torn between going after James and waiting out the man his old friend had become.

Carol laughed. "Well, he's in fine form tonight. Dramatic as always. Did he learn that from you, Rogers?"

The Cap didn't reply, still staring after James.

Rhodey snickered at the man and leaned over to drop a fond kiss on his girlfriend's cheekbone. "Probably," he answered before the Cap managed to scrape together the words to. "But being around Tony hasn't helped, I'd bet."

Peggy picked her drink back up and leaned back in her seat. "Steve, come sit down," she demanded her voice firm and commanding, finally breaking the Cap out of his reverie.

As he (somewhat reluctantly) settled himself next to her again, she added, "James was always a bit dramatic, even back when I got to know him, and now that he has to reinvent himself, he's been experimenting to find a balance he likes between serious and not."

Bucky added his support. "He wanted a chance to see if he was ready, I think," he said to the Cap. "For a long time, he wasn't sure he'd be able to be in a room with you without one of you reacting badly."

The Witch sniffed. "That does not surprise me."

Wilson sighed. "Me neither. Steve, you better give the man the space he wants. It seems to be working for him. He's sure as fuck not the same robot we fought in DC."

The Cap hesitated for several long seconds, then asked the question Tony was sure had been on his mind for months. "Why here? Why not come to us?"

The Widow gave the impression that she would have rolled her eyes at him if that wouldn't have ruined her image. "Steve, don't be dense. He didn't want to be pursued while he tried to figure out who he was, and Stark's Tower offered him exactly that chance, given that Stark wasn't ready to be around us much and vice versa. You wouldn't be hounding him about his memories, and HYDRA wouldn't be able to get at him easily."

Wilson nodded thoughtfully. "It makes a lot of sense, actually, from a strategic standpoint, and he's got two primary sources here, too."

Tony did roll his eyes. "Glad you approve of my guest's choices," he snarked. "Now, can we move on to a new topic? That trenchcoat of yours is a travesty, Wilson."

The comment got him an offended exclamation, and Wilson began explaining exactly why his trenchcoat was awesome as Rhodey laughed and Carol tucked herself close to him. Peggy did much the same to the Cap, and that made the Cap's expression go soft. The rest of them settled in to try to recapture the easy calm they'd had before Ultron had splintered them.

The road to recovery wasn't an easy one, but, Tony thought the team might be well on its way, too.


End file.
